Spring is hereSome thoughts, and then some news

DEAR FRIENDS

April 2009. Spring is here at last. Nature all around us is blossoming, and is obviously unaware that there is a worldwide economic crisis. A beautiful illustration that life goes on, no matter what. Life goes on indeed.

But whether or not each individual is directily and financially affected by the crisis, it seems that everyone is reconsidering fundamental and personal priorities. Almost everyone I meet is questioning their basic assumptions and often making very important decisions concerning their lives.

We are all focusing on our latent personal and social dissatisfactions. These have been underlined by the recent economic and political meltdown. If there are clear messages to learn from today’s transformations, they may be that mindless consumption does not bring happiness. We need to earn money as a means. However, the money we earn is just a measure of success. It is not a very pertinent goal. Very often in the qualitative dimensions of life, more is less. and too much is dangerous. Etc. In general, new awarenesses is a great gift. For many, the economic crisis is provoking important personal and professional questions and spurring existential transformations.

Some of those questions are: What do I really want? What do I really want to do? Who do I want to become, and with whom do I really want to be? Important professional questions are surfacing: What profession do i want to embrace to bring meaning to my life? With whom do I want to work and develop on the long term?

Among other fundamental questions, these are completely in tune with what coaching is all about. Coaching is obviously synchronized with today's needs. I am both excited and proud to be part of this professional community.

METASYSTEME COACH ACADEMY

To share a few more personal news and projects, Geanina and I will be coming to Romania from April 25 to May 24. During this trip, I will deliver a few workshops, trainings and conferences that you may want to consider.

On April 29-30 don’t miss the “Risk-Management / Cubes Exercise” workshop. It is highly recommended both for leaders and entrepreneurs, and for coaches and consultants.

On May 7 -8 we are starting a new “Coaching Fundamentals/ Empowering management” training cycle in Timisoara. This training is both focused on how to become a coach for future professionals in that field, and on how to become an empowering leader by developing new motivational skills.

The Timisoara adventure is just beginning for us, and filling the workshops is a challenge. Do not hesitate to spread the information in your network to make this training a real success. When there will be enough response for coach training in Timisoara, Cornell Carausu and I will also organize local advanced workshops and a supervision group. If you are interested, or know people in the area who could benefit from the program, please do let us know.

In Bucharest again, the Metasysteme Coach Academy runs an ongoing supervision group. It is meeting monthly to accompany professional coach skill developement. Do not forget that supervision is the really practical and onging coach developement environment which helps coaches really acquire mastery in their profession. Supervision is the best way to become a really professional coach (PCC and MCC). There are numerous descriptions of our specifically systemic coach-supervision approach on our website, along with a number of articles on the subject of supervision.

CONFERENCE

As some of you may know, I am also delivering a conference on May 21 in the annual coaching conference organized by Business-Edu In Bucharest. This type of introductory event is sure to attract a large public and it may be an opportunity for all of us to network professionally and meet new friends. We hope to see you there.

BOOKS

As planned, my latest book in French, the "Dictionnaire Commenté du Coaching" will be on library shelves in France this end of April or early May. The Romanian version is being translated and we expect to have it out in September this year. Good excuse for another party.

Although I seem to have less time on my hands, I have also advanced on my next English book project and have started to put online and in that language a number of chapters in the form of articles. If you want to keep up, regularly check for changes on the English page of the website.

WEBSITE

You have probably already noticed the cosmetic changes which makes the Metasysteme Coaching website easier to read and much more user-friendly. Visitors now view more pages and stay longer than before. The website also has a host of new potentials and functions, such as this newsletter function, of which this letter is the first large-scale test. You will be discovering more in the near future.

In three main languages and with some pages also translated into Spanish and German, The Metasystem website is gradually becoming an international resource for professional coaches all over the world.

Some statistics (from Google Analytics) and concerning visits for just this last month:

412 different website pages were viewed a total of 10,570 times

3,500 visitors came from 79 countries or territories

109 different traffic sources and mediums have sent or referred these 3,500 visitors

Average time spent on the website by each visitor is 3:42 minutes

THE TEAM

Thanks to the training investment in the past few years, the coaching community is developing fast in Romania. Every month, several Metaysteme Coaching Academy "alumni" are passing their ICF exams. As a result numerous Accredited Certified Coaches (ACCs) validated by the International Coach Federation are now active on the Romanian market, and more are preparing.

All ACCs who wish to be listed on our website may send us a very short (one paragraph) coach-training "bio", their website address and phone number to be listed on the Metasysteme Coaching Website.

Also, a few independent coaches are creating a team which will be more closely affiliated to Metasysteme Coaching and which will participate in developing our presence in Romania. These are also to be listed on the website.

This bring me to the end of the most recent news. So I hope to see you on our coming trip to Romania, or maybe on one of the following ones this year, and if you need information, do not hesitate to contact us by mail or phone.